Much attention has been focused on the Boston Red Sox bullpen going into the offseason. As a group, they ranked fifth in the American League with a bullpen ERA of 3.56. They held opposing hitters to a .233/.286/.386 slash line, good for the second-lowest opponent OPS in the AL. Their K/9 was north of 9, and the only danger sign was their middle-of-the-pack 3.69 BB/9.
So why is everyone freaking out about bullpen help? For one, the team is watching a trio of core contributors enter free agency. Junichi Tazawa, Koji Uehara, and Brad Ziegler are on the open market, leaving a giant hole in the seventh and eighth innings of relief.